Midseason Review/New Top 30 Prospects
Notes:
“When do the minor league seasons end?”
Soon, at least for two teams.
Hudson Valley and Tampa end on September 6th.
Somerset plays through September 13th.
Scranton doesn’t finish until September 20th.
However, Tampa’s season will continue beyond the 6th. Their insane second half has earned them a playoff berth.
Hudson Valley is two games behind Greensboro for a playoff berth. Wilmington is also in the mix, and Hudson Valley is traveling there for the season-ending series.
Scranton (68-60; 31-23 in the second half) (Lost to Worcester, 13-10. Worcester had a 10-2 lead through five innings. Scranton made it interesting, at least. Anyway, the Railriders are still in the second-half mix. Teams fighting for that slot: Rochester (35-22); Indianapolis (34-23); Scranton (31-23); St. Paul (32-24). Remember, they do not “make up” games for playoff purposes in the minors. Hence, being a game behind Rochester in the loss column isn’t quite as important as it would be in MLB)
CF Jarred Kelenic: 1-for-5, 2B (5), 2 K
3B Anthony Volpe: 3-for-4, 2 HR (8), 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, K
Volpe launched seven home runs in August (his SLG was .566). The Yankees are taking the addition of versatility to his profile seriously. Can Volpe be useful as a right-handed 2B/SS/3B? He probably doesn’t have the arm to add an outfield position to his mix. Still, the offensive bar for a utility player is lower than for an everyday player, especially if Volpe can show that he has defensive chops.
LF Jasson Dominguez: 3-for-5, 2B (8), 2 R, CS (3)
Volpe and Dominguez go 6-for-9 as they try to break out of their doldrums.
2B Marco Luciano: 2-for-5, HR (14), 2 RBI, 2 R, 3 K
Luciano launches his 24th home run and has homered in back-to-back games. He hit .253/.322/.494 with six home runs in August.
C J.C. Escarra: 2-for-5, 2B (14), RBI, R, K
SS Max Schuemann: 3-for-4, RBI, R, BB
RF Yanquiel Fernandez: 0-for-4, BB
1B Tyler Hardman: 2-for-5, HR (12), 3 RBI, R
Hardman is the organization’s new home run leader with 25, breaking the tie with Garrett Martin. He is one away from his personal best. In 2023, he hit 26 home runs in only 77 games before a season-ending injury.
DH Ernesto Martinez Jr.: 1-for-5, HR (17), RBI, R, K
LHP Kyle Carr: (L, 0-2) 2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, HR
LHP Xavier Rivas: 4 IP, 9 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, HR
His performance for Scranton isn’t helping his offseason trade value. He has a 17.47 ERA over 11.1 innings. He has 17 walks and 10 strikeouts. Oof.
RHP Travis MacGregor: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K
RHP Carson Coleman: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, HR
Somerset (67-59; 30-27 in the second half) (Lost to Akron, 7-4. This is a big loss, as Somerset is slowly falling out of it. They will need a major 2-week surge to have a shot at catching Reading.)
DH Jace Avina: 1-for-5, R, SB (15)
.250/.347/.466 in 478 PA. While he hit better towards the end of the month, August was not kind to Avina, as he hit .213/.324/.258. He took his share of walks, but the power was nearly non-existent.
SS Core Jackson: 1-for-5, 2B (2), R, K
Since promotion: .238/.327/.333 in 49 measly plate appearances. He is still looking for his first Double-A home run (hit 12 for Hudson Valley).
2B Roderick Arias: 0-for-3, R, BB
On the last day of May, Arias was hitting .191/.297/.268. He is now hitting .268/.353/.450. Between here and Hudson Valley, Arias had himself quite an August, hitting .280/.362/.510 (9 doubles, 1 triple, 4 home runs). I do have to mention the 37 strikeouts, because that is important too.
C Omar Alfonzo: 1-for-4, RBI, K
RF DJ Gladney: 0-for-1, R, HBP, 2 BB, K
3B Coby Morales: 1-for-3, SF, RBI, K
Morales hit .308/.444/.423 in August, but only drove in five runs. While it is possible he was great with nobody on base and not-so-good with runners on base, it *seems* more likely the opportunities weren’t there. Either way, Morales has put together a solid campaign.
1B Josh Moylan: 0-for-2, HBP, BB, K
CF Cole Gabrielson: 0-for-3, RBI, BB, K
LF Jackson Castillo: 1-for-4, K
RHP Bryce Cunningham: (L, 0-1) 6 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 3 HR
“If not for the home runs…”.
LHP Geoffrey Gilbert: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Yerry Rodriguez: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, HR
RHP Huey Morrill: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Hudson Valley (64-60; 34-26 in second half) (Lost to Brooklyn, 5-2)
DH Eric Genther: 2-for-3, RBI, HBP, K
Genther wasn’t hitting for much of an average earlier in the month, but ended it with a 7-game hitting streak. He ended up at .259/.411/.482 with seven doubles and four home runs. He walked 20 times while striking out 21 times.
SS Jackson Lovich: 1-for-4, 2B (2), 2 K
At this level: .324/.402/.495 in 122 PA. In August, he hit .326/.415/.517 with 22 RBI, 21 runs, and 13 stolen bases in 15 attempts. The only bad thing was the 29 strikeouts.
1B Kyle West: 0-for-4, 3 K
CF Maika Niu: 0-for-3, R, SB (4), BB, K
C David McCann: 0-for-4, 2 K
McCann launched seven homers in August while compiling a .265/.351/.588 triple slash.
RF Dean Toigo: 1-for-4, RBI, K
Toigo is hitting .286/.366/.413 in his first 71 professional plate appearances.
2B Enmanuel Tejeda: 1-for-2, R, BB
A good month for Tejeda (.282/.378/.346 with 13 stolen bases in 15 attempts).
3B Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: 0-for-3
LF Robbie Burnett: 0-for-3, K
RHP Danny Flatt: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Nice performance by Flatt, who was called up here from the FCL for today’s start (“Wait! The FCL season is over!” The games are over, the work isn’t). Anyway, this was his High-A debut, but he might not be here for long.
RHP Bryce Warrecker: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, HR
RHP Jose M. Rodriguez (L, 1-3): 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
RHP Hansel Rincon: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
RHP Brady Kirtner: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, HR
Tampa (74-49; 39-18 in the second half) (Defeated Jupiter, 7-3. Pure dominance. They have a +112 run differential in 57 second-half games)
SS Dax Kilby: 0-for-2, R, 3 BB
Kilby is a walking machine. He has walked 32 times in 27 games (135 PA; 23.7%). The rest of his offensive game hasn’t been so bad either, as he is hitting .272/.444/.437 and has 11 stolen bases in 12 attempts. He owns a 27-game on-base streak.
CF Yostin Pena: 2-for-4, HR (5), 2 RBI, R, BB, K
Pena continues his mashing ways, as he is hitting .355/.419/.605 in 86 plate appearances since his promotion. He has drawn at least one walk in four straight games. Overall, he has an incredible 13 home runs, 79 RBI, and 74 runs in 55 games.
RF Wilberson De Pena: 0-for-4, 2 K
LF Diego Castellanos: 0-for-4, BB
C Luis Puello: 0-for-3, R, 2 BB, K
1B Tyce Armstrong: 3-for-5, 2B (5), HR (5), 2 RBI, 3 R
Armstrong is enjoying professional baseball, as he is hitting .328/.427/.656 in 75 PA (22 RBI).
3B Anthony Potestio: 1-for-3, R, BB, K
DH Luke Pettitte: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
2B Blake Schaaf: 0-for-1, SF, RBI, 2 BB, K
RHP Wyatt Parliament: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K
LHP Pedro Rodriguez: (W, 2-2) 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Antonio Gomez: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
He reached 99.2 MPH.
LHP Justin West (S, 2): 4.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K
Now THIS is a save! West owns a 4.08 ERA over 108 innings (102 H, 52 R, 49 ER, 10 HR, 32 BB, 117 K). Over 22.2 August innings: 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 28 K
FCL Yankees (29-29)
Their season is over.
DSL Yankees (33-21 regular season; 0-2 in pool play)
Their season is over.
DSL Bombers (25-29-1)
Their season is over.